IT IS a really exciting time at the moment with us going into the bye at 5-2 which was a lot better than 4-3 obviously. We've had the chance to sit down and watch the State Game, and Perth beat Subi on the weekend and now we get ready to take them on.

Our form has been good all year even though we lost to Claremont at Claremont after being in the game for a long period before they got some goals in the last 10 minutes or so to kick away, and against Swans we butchered the ball.

We went inside forward 50 a lot more than them and had a lot more scoring shots up to about the 20-minute mark of the last quarter so it was a game we could have put to bed a lot earlier. That came back to bite us on the backside and no loss is a good loss even though as coaches we might flower it up as an honourable loss, but those two games we could have easily won had we executed a little bit better at important stages.

So after those two games, it was great to go down to Shark Park and come away with the win. I think anyone who was down there would have been really impressed by the game that was put on by both sides. The conditions were fantastic, but with one side kicking 21.3 and the other 24.8 that's some really good kicking on goals and it probably hasn’t been East Fremantle or our strength over the last couple of years.

There was lots of fast-paced, up and down style footy which would have been great to watch. I'm not sure it was great for me to watch in the coaches' box but one of the reasons East Fremantle kicked so well on goal was the ease we allowed them into the forward 50. That is a concern for us, but we really focused on going down there and coming away with a win. Last time we were there we lost by over 100 points and whilst our side has evolved a little bit, we had a lot of the same players.

Having three weeks in between games is far from ideal but we worked on the fact of going fairly light in the week after the East Fremantle game. We did have five guys in the State squad and another four or five who played in the rising stars game the night before the State Game so we were a bit light on in numbers that week anyway. On that Tuesday night our players went out to do some junior clinics and then we gave them from Thursday night until Tuesday the next week off to give them the chance to do things that they don't usually get to do during the season to take a bit of a break.

A lot of our boys like surfing and golf so it gave them the chance to do that and unwind over the weekend. They still had a running program and we expected them to look after themselves, but we wanted to refresh them mentally and physically. Then we trained Tuesday and Thursday like normal the next week, and we had a run on the Saturday morning.

It was a session designed to get them back into game mode. There was a fair bit of intensity, a bit of match-play and some physical nature to the competition to get them back into the routine that Saturday is game day. We tried to load it up a bit so we could have a normal week's training leading into the Perth game where on Monday we do weights, running and a little bit of skills, and then have our main sessions on Tuesday and Thursday.

It was important to make the Saturday somewhat like match day so it looks like we haven’t had a full two weeks break, but it was just as important to let them recharge for a week. They have worked hard since October and had four or five really difficult games in a row. It's been a hard slog and we've got a lot of young players. We took a breather for a week and now we are back into it working hard to prepare for Perth. They are playing some great footy and we expect it to be a tough game.

Even though there has been a bit of turnover on the Perth list, I don’t think it's been a talent issue at Perth for a number of years. I'm not on the inside of the club so I'm not going to comment directly on any culture issues they might have had, but people at the club have openly said they have tried to change the culture. Having people like Paul Bevan around who has been part of the successful Sydney era would help that and it drifts down the entire playing squad.

They have assembled a good list, they are playing an exciting brand of footy and get up the ground, and run back hard and defend hard. Talent-wise they have enough of that to be a strong team and it's now a fact that Marty Atkins is having an impact as CEO and the coach Damien McMahon has upped his expectations on the playing group. It just goes to show that if you have strong beliefs within the group and standards that you demand are met then you get your reward. They should be commended on what they have done so far.

Our captain Jason will play some footy this week against Perth, we will just wait and see whether or not that's in the reserves or back into the league side. It was good to see Steve Potente get through the reserves game against East Freo as well. He was tearing the track up in the pre-season and would have played Round 1 before he got hurt. He offers us something different. There isn’t much of him, but he's a left-footer and is sharp around the contest.

Joe Morrow should be back as well and then there's a string of guys playing some really good footy in twos. James Embley, James Batterham, Mitch McPhee, Frank Stockley and Matt Fowler are in good form so we think that we have got some depth to cover. How much we can cover at any one time we don’t know, but things have been going all right on the injury front so far. We've had three or four out and most of them should be available by the time May 25 comes around in one of the two grades.

BY BILL MONAGHAN

IT IS a really exciting time at the moment with us going into the bye at 5-2 which was a lot better than 4-3 obviously. We've had the chance to sit down and watch the State Game, and Perth beat Subi on the weekend and now we get ready to take them on.

Our form has been good all year even though we lost to Claremont at Claremont after being in the game for a long period before they got some goals in the last 10 minutes or so to kick away, and against Swans we butchered the ball.

We went inside forward 50 a lot more than them and had a lot more scoring shots up to about the 20-minute mark of the last quarter so it was a game we could have put to bed a lot earlier. That came back to bite us on the backside and no loss is a good loss even though as coaches we might flower it up as an honourable loss, but those two games we could have easily won had we executed a little bit better at important stages.

So after those two games, it was great to go down to Shark Park and come away with the win. I think anyone who was down there would have been really impressed by the game that was put on by both sides. The conditions were fantastic, but with one side kicking 21.3 and the other 24.8 that's some really good kicking on goals and it probably hasn’t been East Fremantle or our strength over the last couple of years.

There was lots of fast-paced, up and down style footy which would have been great to watch. I'm not sure it was great for me to watch in the coaches' box but one of the reasons East Fremantle kicked so well on goal was the ease we allowed them into the forward 50. That is a concern for us, but we really focused on going down there and coming away with a win. Last time we were there we lost by over 100 points and whilst our side has evolved a little bit, we had a lot of the same players.

Having three weeks in between games is far from ideal but we worked on the fact of going fairly light in the week after the East Fremantle game. We did have five guys in the State squad and another four or five who played in the rising stars game the night before the State Game so we were a bit light on in numbers that week anyway. On that Tuesday night our players went out to do some junior clinics and then we gave them from Thursday night until Tuesday the next week off to give them the chance to do things that they don't usually get to do during the season to take a bit of a break.

A lot of our boys like surfing and golf so it gave them the chance to do that and unwind over the weekend. They still had a running program and we expected them to look after themselves, but we wanted to refresh them mentally and physically. Then we trained Tuesday and Thursday like normal the next week, and we had a run on the Saturday morning.

It was a session designed to get them back into game mode. There was a fair bit of intensity, a bit of match-play and some physical nature to the competition to get them back into the routine that Saturday is game day. We tried to load it up a bit so we could have a normal week's training leading into the Perth game where on Monday we do weights, running and a little bit of skills, and then have our main sessions on Tuesday and Thursday.

It was important to make the Saturday somewhat like match day so it looks like we haven’t had a full two weeks break, but it was just as important to let them recharge for a week. They have worked hard since October and had four or five really difficult games in a row. It's been a hard slog and we've got a lot of young players. We took a breather for a week and now we are back into it working hard to prepare for Perth. They are playing some great footy and we expect it to be a tough game.

Even though there has been a bit of turnover on the Perth list, I don’t think it's been a talent issue at Perth for a number of years. I'm not on the inside of the club so I'm not going to comment directly on any culture issues they might have had, but people at the club have openly said they have tried to change the culture. Having people like Paul Bevan around who has been part of the successful Sydney era would help that and it drifts down the entire playing squad.

They have assembled a good list, they are playing an exciting brand of footy and get up the ground, and run back hard and defend hard. Talent-wise they have enough of that to be a strong team and it's now a fact that Marty Atkins is having an impact as CEO and the coach Damien McMahon has upped his expectations on the playing group. It just goes to show that if you have strong beliefs within the group and standards that you demand are met then you get your reward. They should be commended on what they have done so far.

Our captain Jason will play some footy this week against Perth, we will just wait and see whether or not that's in the reserves or back into the league side. It was good to see Steve Potente get through the reserves game against East Freo as well. He was tearing the track up in the pre-season and would have played Round 1 before he got hurt. He offers us something different. There isn’t much of him, but he's a left-footer and is sharp around the contest.

Joe Morrow should be back as well and then there's a string of guys playing some really good footy in twos. James Embley, James Batterham, Mitch McPhee, Frank Stockley and Matt Fowler are in good form so we think that we have got some depth to cover. How much we can cover at any one time we don’t know, but things have been going all right on the injury front so far. We've had three or four out and most of them should be available by the time May 25 comes around in one of the two grades.

The AFL’s Multi-Cultural program continues to promote our great game to people that may have never heard of or been involved with Australian Rules football.

As part of the National 16’s Carnival to be held in Sydney from July 6 – 13, the Multi-Cultural program will field a World XXIII Team that will compete in Division 3 of this carnival.

One of our 16’s Development Squad players, Jesse Montile, was selected by the WAFC to attend a training camp held in Melbourne in early May. Originally born in South Africa, Jesse was one of 8 players selected from Western Australia to attend this weekend training camp.

While in Melbourne the squad had the opportunity to train at the new North Melbourne facility, play a practice game at Carlton’s Visy Park and attend the Richmond vs Geelong game at the MCG. The squad was coached by Carlton great Anthony Koutoufides.

While he was away Jesse was good enough to keep a short diary of his experience in Melbourne.

INTERNATIONAL 23'S TRIP TO MELBOURNE

Flight at 11:00am - Flying with 6 other boys from WA - 2 from Swan Districts, 1 from Claremont, 2 from Perth and 1 from Subiaco.

Once we arrived in Melbourne at 4:15pm we headed to Visy Park where Carlton FC train. I was on a bus mixed with WA boys and SA boys, 3 from SA.

Once at Visy Park, we met the coaching staff and were introduced to the main coaches, Anthony Koutoufides & Chris Johnson. Both of the coaches introduced the 41 boys to what would be happening over the next 3 days. They tried to inspire and motivate the group into being as successful as possible and show us all the different pathways to make the AFL. After this the boys had dinner in the Carlton dining room where former Essendon defender, Jason Johnson cooked the boys dinner in order to show the correct dietary needs.

After dinner the boys did a few team bonding activities as there were boys from all different parts of the world.

Following this we went to the hotel room and went to bed.

Saturday morning was an early start at 6:30am to have breakfast at 7am followed by our medical screenings and physical testing at North Melbourne FC which included a 20m sprint, vertical jump and agility test. This testing went until about 1pm where we then had lunch at North Melbourne followed by an intense training session led by coaches Anthony Koutoufides who joined in the session and Darren Flanagan (former Geelong FC and Collingwood FC Assistant Coach) which went for 2 hours. This involved some different drills made up by the coaching staff.

That evening we went back to the hotel, had dinner and headed to the MCG for the Geelong vs Richmond match. We had tickets provided by the AFL allowing us to sit anywhere and Geelong won the game.

After the game we went back to the hotel at 11:00pm and knowing we had the biggest morning of the camp the next day, everyone went to bed as soon as we got back.

Another early start at 6am, to play our first and only trial game held at Visy Park. The boys were excited to show off their skills and to impress coaching staff hoping to gain selection in the State 16's Carnival held in Sydney. Players were divided into 2 teams decided by the coaching staff, known as Team 'Kouta' and team 'Dash'. The game was successful with few injuries and Team 'Kouta' coming out on top. After the game we went back to the hotel pool for a recovery session held by AFL and former Geelong physio, Nick Ames. He took us in the pool at 2 degrees which the boys weren't very happy about and we had to stay in for 8 minutes and swim.

Following this the boys went upstairs and got an outduction by all coaching staff and had lunch.

Then all the interstate / international boys caught their flight back to where they live.

It was clear to see that Jesse had a great time in Melbourne. We wish him all the best with final selections for the squad being announced in the next week and for his continued development at West Perth Football Club.

Want to get fit???? Take up the challenge and match it with one of the Falcons best! Rohan Kerr has started his own personal training business and will hold PT sessions at 7:15pm every Monday night and at 9:00am on Sunday mornings.

Each session will only cost $10 and will be held at Falklands Park in Kinross. Sessions will specialise in fat loss, muscle gain and muscle tone. This is a fun way to get fit with competitions at the end of each workout to win free sessions. For any queries, please contact Rohan on 0416 968 814.

REMINDER THAT ALL RAFFLE TICKETS SOLD OR UNSOLD MUST BE RETURNED TO THE CLUB BY 5PM WEDNESDAY 22 MAY 2013 TO BE ENTERED INTO THE DRAW.

Tickets are only $5 each and you could win a fantastic home theatre entertainment package kindly donated by Kambo’s! Please support the West Perth Football Club by purchasing as many tickets as you can. All monies raised go back into the West Perth Football Club football department and helps us provide valuable resources for the players.

The winning raffle ticket numbers will be drawn on Saturday 25 May at the West Perth vs Perth home game and announced over the PA at half time. Results will be published in The West Australian on Wednesday 29 May 2013 and announced via the West Perth Football Club website – www.westperthfc.com.au. The West Perth Football Club will contact the winner of the home theatre entertainment package to arrange collection of their prize and the $100 cheques for the 2nd to 4th prizes will be posted out to the winners the week after the draw.

If you require additional raffle books, please contact Georgia at the Club on 08 9300 3611 or by email to reception@falconsfc.com.au. Good luck!!!

WEST Perth trio Aaron Black, Andrew Strijk and Jay van Berlo all played key roles in Western Australia's first win over Victoria in 22 years in Saturday's State Game in Northam.

While Shane Nelson, Rohan Kerr and Steven Browne could consider themselves unlucky to not have made the WA team after impressive starts to the season, Black and van Berlo were picked for their State debuts and Strijk to make his third appearance in a Black Swans jumper.

Black was one of the stars of the day for the home side. The 20-year-old West Perth wingman has gained good experience with 48 games already with the Falcons despite being the youngest player in WA's team, and he stood up tremendously.

He kicked a good long goal just over a minute in to record the game's first six-pointer and added another crucial one midway through the last quarter to put the Black Swans 11 points up. He finished with 21 possessions to go with the two goals.

Strijk, the West Perth veteran of 119 games and former Eagle, was making his third appearance for WA but has been playing a new role with the Falcons this season across half-back and continued that for the Black Swans where he could use his strong running and kicking ability.

He played a strong game as well finishing with 20 possessions, two clearances, one inside-50 entry and three rebounds from the defensive 50.

Van Berlo is in his first season back full-time with West Perth after 32 games in four years with Fremantle and made his debut for WA and spent much of the game on the ball in the midfield.

He made a solid contribution with 13 disposals and worked hard to lay five tackles and drive the ball inside-50 on three occasions. He kicked a crucial third quarter goal as well to keep WA in the contest.

Victoria dominated an inaccurate WA in the first half and led by a game-high 31 points midway through the third quarter, but the Black Swans managed to wrest back some momentum just before three quarter-time.

The margin was just 14 points by the last break and WA went on to kick the only five goals in the final quarter to run 17.16 (118) to 15.11 (101) victors.

It is WA's first win over a Victorian side in interstate competition since a State of Origin victory back in 1991 at the WACA Ground.

With East Perth spearhead Josh Smith out of the game with a calf strain, WA was always going to have to find some different avenues to goal and perhaps the most unlikely of those turned out to be the eventual Simpson Medal winner.

Wayde Twomey has spent precious little time in his WAFL career with Swan Districts as a forward even though he did do it at times in his VFL days, but the move to play him across half-forward and occasionally deeper proved a masterstroke.

He finished with five goals from 16 possessions and six marks in a tremendous performance.

Paul Bevan and Tim Geappen both added three goals apiece for the Black Swans as well with Brennan Stack and Black booting two apiece.

The WA defence looked shaky at times in the first half but steadied after half-time and was led tremendously by East Fremantle's Steven Dodd. In a near best on ground performance, he repelled Victorian attack after attack in the second half and also Ben Warren quiet in the second half.

Kyle Hams was strong in defence as well and provided goo run out of the back-line with 22 possessions while Strijk did the same with 20 disposals. David Crawford, Tallan Ames and Paul Bower were also sold contributors from the back-line.

Captain Paul Johnson battled hard in the ruck and finished with 19 possessions, 38 hit outs, four clearances and seven entries inside-50. Subiaco's Clancy Wheeler offered him great support also with 14 disposals, five tackles and six inside 50s.

Sam Lloyd kicked four goals for the Big V with Josh Scipione adding three and two each to Michael Lourey, Warren and Chris Michaliades.

The WAFL side got the ideal start when 20-year-old West Perth wingman Black kicked a goal just over a minute into the contest, but Victoria responded almost straightaway through Lourey.

Scipione then kicked two quickly for the Big V to gain the ascendancy before Wheeler converted a 50-metre penalty into a goal for WA.

Victoria then assumed control, though, with WA managing seven behinds for the quarter while the visitors took their chance in front of goals to lead by as much as 22 points late in the opening term.

WA again started the second quarter strongly with first three goals through Geappen, Twomey and Bevan to close the deficit to just two points.

However, once again more gettable shots on goal were missed and then Victoria was able to capitalise on turnovers around the ground to again steady with a 25-point half-time lead despite a three-goal quarter from Twomey.

It only took a minute into the second half for Twomey to kick his fourth of the game but Victoria again steadied Lloyd kicking his third and fourth goals to stretch the lead out to a game-high 31 points.

However, WA worked its way back into the contest and with four goals in seven minutes to Jay van Berlo, Geappen, Stack and Bevan the Black Swans were back within a straight kick. Victoria got one back just before three quarter-time to lead by 14 points at the last change.

While Victoria was still in front at three quarter-time, WA seemed to have the momentum and as it turned out all the run in the final quarter with Stack, Bevan, Twomey, Black and Geappen all kicking goals to see the Black Swans home by 17 points.

Today, the West Perth Football Club is mourning the losses of Life Member, Joe Barron who passed away last night and past player Lindsay Holland who passed away over the weekend.

JOE BARRON

Joe Barron was a unique personality that every club has. He was always at the club with a cigarette and a brandy. He spoke to everyone and everyone knew who he was.

Vice President Scott Ballem has very fond memories of Joe Barron;

"Joey Barron lived and breathed West Perth. He lived a stones throw from Leederville Oval for the best part of his married life, a decision I believe he made after being married to ensure that he could be at the club when it suited him.

He was a plumber by trade and was the ‘service and maintenance man’ at both Leederville Oval and Subiaco Oval right up to about 1997.

He spent many years as the clubs property man when we were at Leederville Oval – we would have to check the old annual reports to see what years he served in this role, but from my understanding it would have been at least 20 – 25 years as either assistant property man or head property man up until around 1990.

When the club moved to Joondalup in 1994 – so did Joe and his wife. He could not stand to live more than walking distance from the club.

Upon our arrival at Joondalup he became our cleaner. He would wander into the offices daily to tell Tracy stupid jokes, test Woody’s patience with his advice and promise me he would be at my funeral because I was living a sordid life. He held that role until around 1998, when age and his ailing (one eyed) vision meant he could not do the job any more.

His favourite player was Billy Dempsey. He loved Demmo like a son and I am pretty sure he has looked after Demmo in his younger years with meals and family support. Every time we won a flag, Joey had to have the premiership port bottle number 12. I hid it from him in 1995 and told him I was keeping it and I thought he was going to literally cry. He has it to this day.

His last few years were spent as a widower in Joondalup and his ailing health has kept him from games this year. But he was at most home games last year. The highlights of his day at the footy were always his one scotch, a chat with Demmo and a hug from Tracy. And he told me he would come to my funeral right up to the last time I saw him".

BARRON: The Funeral Cortege for Mr Joseph Barron of Joondalup, formerly of Scarborough and Leederville will arrive at PINNAROO Valley Memorial Park, Whitfords Ave, Padbury at 11.00am on MONDAY (20.5.2013) for a Cremation Service.

LINDSAY HOLLAND

Lindsay Holland played for the West Perth Football Club from 1959 to 1963. He made his debut for the red and the blue on the 9th of May 1959 and in his 16 League games kicked an impressive 55 goals. David Dyson remembers Lindsay as a gifted goal kicking forward. He was a Premiership player for the Reserves in 1960 when they beat East Fremantle in the Grand Final.

HOLLAND: The Funeral Service for Mr Lindsay Maxwell Holland of Swan View, originally of Kwolyn, will be held in Bowra & O'Dea's Chapel, cnr Great Eastern Hwy and Robinson Rd, Bellevue, commencing at 10.30am on FRIDAY morning (17.5.2013) followed by a Private Cremation.

The West Perth Football Club passes on its condolences to both the Barron and Holland families.

The Macedonian Marvel aka Peter Daicos gave a great insight into all things AFL and Collingwood in front of a packed house at the Stirling Adriatic Centre on Friday.

His insightful views on the AFL and his recanting of great players from a past era had those in attendance in the palm of his hands.

Daicos is not a regular on the “sports talk” circuit but he should be.

It was a great pleasure to listen to one of the AFL’s most mercurial footballers simply recant the facts from his playing days. Topics covered included the AFL rules, Toyota Legendary Moments TV advertisement (featuring Daicos, Steve Curry and Dave Lawson), Mick Malthouse, Eddie McGuire, Ronnie Wearmouth and Leigh Matthews.

The room was littered with fans, members and Falcons royalty. These included Les Fong and Bill Dempsey, who Peter acknowledged as great players in the WAFL. The fact that there is a desert between Perth and Melbourne had not lessened his knowledge or the reputation of our two great champions. Others in attendance were Premiership player Laurie Heal, Wildcats Premiership Coach Rob Beveridge and leading 6PR commentator Paul Murray.

Daicos nominated Chris Judd as the best player of the current era with Cyril Rioli as his most favourite player to watch. When asked about Mick Malthouse and his bust up with Collingwood he was forth coming. Daicos doesn’t believe Mick ever took in the older past greats of the club and was more than happy to see him move on to the Pies’ biggest foe, Carlton.

After speaking for 45 minutes the crowd was treated to a banquet feast from our great friends at the Stirling Adriatic Centre and then Peter returned to take questions for a further 30 minutes. This was followed by an auction in which Falcons President Brett Raponi showed his ‘Pies allegiance by successfully bidding for the Collingwood Team of the Century jumper signed by Daicos himself and Stuart Cuthbert took home the signed player card WEG 1990 Premiership poster.

Daicos then stayed on for the afternoon mingling with the crowd posing for photographs and signing autographs.

WEST Perth foursome Aaron Black, Rohan Kerr, Jay van Berlo and Andrew Strijk are all in line to represent Western Australia against Victoria in Saturday's State game in Northam.

While Steven Browne and Shane Nelson were unlucky to be left out of the final squad of 25 that was named for Saturday's clash pitting the best of the WAFL against the cream of the VFL, the four West Perth stars still in the squad all head into the game in outstanding form.

Black, Kerr, van Berlo and Strijk are all big reasons why West Perth heads into this double-bye with a 5-2 record to have the second half of the season set up nicely.

Providing all four are included in the final 22, or 23, it will be the State debut for Black, Kerr and van Berlo and a third appearance for Strijk who played in the win over South Australia in 2009 and then loss to Victoria in 2010.

Black continues to emerge as one of the brightest young wingmen and midfielders in the competition continuing on from where he left off in 2012 to have a brilliant start to 2013 so far.

The 20-year-old is averaging over 26 possessions a game to date including another 32 in last Saturday's win over East Fremantle Oval. His consistency is tremendously impressive as well with him racking up at least 21 disposals in every game so far this year.

Kerr has made an immediate impact since arriving at West Perth this season after time with Carlton in the AFL where he played plenty of good VFL football along the way.

He has settled into a role across half-forward with some stints through the middle and done a tremendous job so far averaging almost 21 possessions a game including an equal-high of 29 last week against the Sharks.

The 21-year-old has also kicked 12 goals in the seven games including six in Round 5 against Peel Thunder and another three last Saturday against East Fremantle.

Van Berlo has returned to the Falcons full-time this season after 32 games in four years with the Fremantle Dockers.

The 2008 Breckler Medal winner has thrown himself back in seamlessly with the Falcons mostly in the midfield where is proficient at both playing an attacking, ball-winning role and also playing a lockdown role on a dangerous opponent when required.

Like van Berlo, Strijk returns full-time to West Perth this season after 13 games in three years while listed with the West Coast Eagles.

The 25-year-old veteran now of 119 WAFL games has found himself in a new role across half-back so far this season as well and it's suited him perfectly allowing him the chance to use his natural ball-winning and kicking skills to set up play off the half-back line.

WEST Perth foursome Aaron Black, Rohan Kerr, Jay van Berlo and Andrew Strijk are all in line to represent Western Australia against Victoria in Saturday's State game in Northam.

While Steven Browne and Shane Nelson were unlucky to be left out of the final squad of 25 that was named for Saturday's clash pitting the best of the WAFL against the cream of the VFL, the four West Perth stars still in the squad all head into the game in outstanding form.

Black, Kerr, van Berlo and Strijk are all big reasons why West Perth heads into this double-bye with a 5-2 record to have the second half of the season set up nicely.

Providing all four are included in the final 22, or 23, it will be the State debut for Black, Kerr and van Berlo and a third appearance for Strijk who played in the win over South Australia in 2009 and then loss to Victoria in 2010.

Black continues to emerge as one of the brightest young wingmen and midfielders in the competition continuing on from where he left off in 2012 to have a brilliant start to 2013 so far.

The 20-year-old is averaging over 26 possessions a game to date including another 32 in last Saturday's win over East Fremantle Oval. His consistency is tremendously impressive as well with him racking up at least 21 disposals in every game so far this year.

Kerr has made an immediate impact since arriving at West Perth this season after time with Carlton in the AFL where he played plenty of good VFL football along the way.

He has settled into a role across half-forward with some stints through the middle and done a tremendous job so far averaging almost 21 possessions a game including an equal-high of 29 last week against the Sharks.

The 21-year-old has also kicked 12 goals in the seven games including six in Round 5 against Peel Thunder and another three last Saturday against East Fremantle.

Van Berlo has returned to the Falcons full-time this season after 32 games in four years with the Fremantle Dockers.

The 2008 Breckler Medal winner has thrown himself back in seamlessly with the Falcons mostly in the midfield where is proficient at both playing an attacking, ball-winning role and also playing a lockdown role on a dangerous opponent when required.

Like van Berlo, Strijk returns full-time to West Perth this season after 13 games in three years while listed with the West Coast Eagles.

The 25-year-old veteran now of 119 WAFL games has found himself in a new role across half-back so far this season as well and it's suited him perfectly allowing him the chance to use his natural ball-winning and kicking skills to set up play off the half-back line.

2013 WAFL STATE SQUAD

Claremont – David Crawford, Jake Murphy, Ryan Neates, Ian Richardson

East Fremantle – Steven Dodd, Rory O’Brien, Andrew Stephen

East Perth – Paul Johnson (C),Brendan Lee, Craig Wulff

Peel Thunder – Paul Bower, Marlon Motlop

Perth – Paul Bevan (VC),Brennan Stack

Subiaco – Jarrod Kayler-Thomson, Brett Mahoney, Clancy Wheeler

Swan Districts – Tallen Ames, Tim Geappen, Kyle Hams, Wayde Twomey

West Perth – Aaron Black, Rohan Kerr, Andrew Strijk, Jay Van Berlo

SATURDAY 11 MAY

Henry Street Oval - Northam

WAFL vs VFL

12:10pm (WST)

Live radio coverage of the state game will be broadcast by Sport FM 91.3 and RadioWest Northam 864 AM.

WITH the State game coming up this Saturday I thought I would take a look at the team I would select to take on Victoria from what I've seen running around in the WAFL so far this year.

There are a few issues that Marc Webb and the coaching staff have and the first one is working out if Josh Smith is fit to play. If he is then he is a walk up start as a key forward along with Tim Geappen. That would give them some good aerial presence and Tim also gets up the ground well, but it looks like Josh isn’t going to be able to play.

There is not really another obvious tall forward in the competition so what I would do is push Paul Johnson to play as a key forward and bring in Mitch Andrews to play in the ruck. Between Mitch and Johnson, I think they can cover having someone competitive in the ruck and someone who can take a mark up forward.

Given there is a fair Claremont favour to the coaching panel, they have been playing with both Andrews and Mark Seaby so I think they will like to have two ruckmen. With Mitch Andrews at least you know you will always get a contest from him. I threw up Nick Rodda to the selectors for someone who could play forward and pinch hit in the ruck because he has good speed and can play all over the ground, but I'm not sure he's ready for State footy yet. That leaves Andrews and Sean Tighe as the only other real genuine options to play along with Johnson with Smith not playing.

Another issue is that there isn’t any real genuine speedy small forward in the squad. Ian Richardson will probably get a gig and play as a leading half-forward who can even push up as a high half-forward so I would go out on a bit of a limb and look at picking a Dayle Garlett along the lines of what Lewis Jetta was able to do for WA a couple of years ago. Dayle is an exceptional talent and it's a matter of whether the State team want to take a bit of a punt on playing a young kid who might be the difference with carrying the ball and he kicks it well, and has good goal sense.

The other one is Sean Henson from East Fremantle. Again he has really good leg speed, can kick on his left and right, and he is a hard person to match up on. The other one I considered was Ryan Lester-Smith but at 190cm I'm not sure he's necessarily going to be the right one there because he's not overly strong overhead and plays more of a small role.

I would have Marlon Motlop on the bench as well and he might be able to play as a small-forward as well and you might also be able to manufacture something with someone like a Jake Murphy going forward. That electrifying speed and unpredictability is something I think they need and Garlett or Henson could add that, and both can probably play on a wing as well.

The other concern is the balance between picking a side that is good on the inside to match it with a potentially strong-bodied Victorian team and then playing to our strength which is the outside run and taking the game on.

Jay van Berlo has been outstanding for us and it's always a difficult thing in a State game if you have someone who plays a negating role, and VB gives both options and he is strong around the clinches. That should complement the likes of Brendan Lee and Murphy. If you went Lee, Murphy and O'Brien there isn’t really any pace on the inside but then on the outside I would have Shane Nelson there as well with Aaron Black and Jarrod Kayler-Thomson as the wingmen, and Brett Mahoney and Motlop come into that mix as well to give some outside run. I think Lee, Murphy and O'Brien are a little bit similar so I would probably only go with two of those.

The other one I would play who can play as a leading half-forward who can also go inside the midfield is Paul Bevan as long as he is fit. He looks like he might have been injured on the weekend, but I would play him if available and if not, the other option is an Anton Hamp-type even though his form has dropped off the last couple of weeks. Brennan Stack has been added as well so he should be able to catch a few on the lead as well and he has good pace.

Paul Bower and Steven Dodd down back probably allow David Crawford or Tallan Ames to be freed up from time to time because they have good size and all four of those can play tall or short really. That does give an extra key position player if you need to use one of them in the ruck or even up forward at some point during the game.

Kyle Hams is an outstanding reader of the play so I would pick him and Andrew Strijk has been in outstanding form for us rebounding off half-back. I would love to be able to get Steven Browne in there as well given the way he has been playing and the other bloke who has been unlucky from us is Jordan Jones not to be picked. He has been particularly outstanding over the last month, but he's probably in that mix with Bower and Dodd, but if some reason one of those weren’t available or the selectors wanted something else I think Jordan Jones could comfortably come in and do a role down back.

To me looking at the squad they've got and even some of the names I've thrown up, I would just like a little bit more speed and X-factor in there because there has to be a point of difference for us. I think that while we need to match Victoria inside and try to be hard, I think we also have to play to our strengths and that's playing on bigger ovals and trying to spread them hard over the ground.

That's why I keep coming back to guys like Garlett, Motlop, Henson and Mahoney to give that run. Whether they are all ready to play State footy or not is probably a bit of a question mark, but the selectors will have to take a punt on someone and they are the best ones I can find along with Stack to really up the speed in the WA to take it up to the Victorians.

BY BILL MONAGHAWITH the State game coming up this Saturday I thought I would take a look at the team I would select to take on Victoria from what I've seen running around in the WAFL so far this year.

There are a few issues that Marc Webb and the coaching staff have and the first one is working out if Josh Smith is fit to play. If he is then he is a walk up start as a key forward along with Tim Geappen. That would give them some good aerial presence and Tim also gets up the ground well, but it looks like Josh isn’t going to be able to play.

There is not really another obvious tall forward in the competition so what I would do is push Paul Johnson to play as a key forward and bring in Mitch Andrews to play in the ruck. Between Mitch and Johnson, I think they can cover having someone competitive in the ruck and someone who can take a mark up forward.

Given there is a fair Claremont favour to the coaching panel, they have been playing with both Andrews and Mark Seaby so I think they will like to have two ruckmen. With Mitch Andrews at least you know you will always get a contest from him. I threw up Nick Rodda to the selectors for someone who could play forward and pinch hit in the ruck because he has good speed and can play all over the ground, but I'm not sure he's ready for State footy yet. That leaves Andrews and Sean Tighe as the only other real genuine options to play along with Johnson with Smith not playing.

Another issue is that there isn’t any real genuine speedy small forward in the squad. Ian Richardson will probably get a gig and play as a leading half-forward who can even push up as a high half-forward so I would go out on a bit of a limb and look at picking a Dayle Garlett along the lines of what Lewis Jetta was able to do for WA a couple of years ago. Dayle is an exceptional talent and it's a matter of whether the State team want to take a bit of a punt on playing a young kid who might be the difference with carrying the ball and he kicks it well, and has good goal sense.

The other one is Sean Henson from East Fremantle. Again he has really good leg speed, can kick on his left and right, and he is a hard person to match up on. The other one I considered was Ryan Lester-Smith but at 190cm I'm not sure he's necessarily going to be the right one there because he's not overly strong overhead and plays more of a small role.

I would have Marlon Motlop on the bench as well and he might be able to play as a small-forward as well and you might also be able to manufacture something with someone like a Jake Murphy going forward. That electrifying speed and unpredictability is something I think they need and Garlett or Henson could add that, and both can probably play on a wing as well.

The other concern is the balance between picking a side that is good on the inside to match it with a potentially strong-bodied Victorian team and then playing to our strength which is the outside run and taking the game on.

Jay van Berlo has been outstanding for us and it's always a difficult thing in a State game if you have someone who plays a negating role, and VB gives both options and he is strong around the clinches. That should complement the likes of Brendan Lee and Murphy. If you went Lee, Murphy and O'Brien there isn’t really any pace on the inside but then on the outside I would have Shane Nelson there as well with Aaron Black and Jarrod Kayler-Thomson as the wingmen, and Brett Mahoney and Motlop come into that mix as well to give some outside run. I think Lee, Murphy and O'Brien are a little bit similar so I would probably only go with two of those.

The other one I would play who can play as a leading half-forward who can also go inside the midfield is Paul Bevan as long as he is fit. He looks like he might have been injured on the weekend, but I would play him if available and if not, the other option is an Anton Hamp-type even though his form has dropped off the last couple of weeks. Brennan Stack has been added as well so he should be able to catch a few on the lead as well and he has good pace.

Paul Bower and Steven Dodd down back probably allow David Crawford or Tallan Ames to be freed up from time to time because they have good size and all four of those can play tall or short really. That does give an extra key position player if you need to use one of them in the ruck or even up forward at some point during the game.

Kyle Hams is an outstanding reader of the play so I would pick him and Andrew Strijk has been in outstanding form for us rebounding off half-back. I would love to be able to get Steven Browne in there as well given the way he has been playing and the other bloke who has been unlucky from us is Jordan Jones not to be picked. He has been particularly outstanding over the last month, but he's probably in that mix with Bower and Dodd, but if some reason one of those weren’t available or the selectors wanted something else I think Jordan Jones could comfortably come in and do a role down back.

To me looking at the squad they've got and even some of the names I've thrown up, I would just like a little bit more speed and X-factor in there because there has to be a point of difference for us. I think that while we need to match Victoria inside and try to be hard, I think we also have to play to our strengths and that's playing on bigger ovals and trying to spread them hard over the ground.

That's why I keep coming back to guys like Garlett, Motlop, Henson and Mahoney to give that run. Whether they are all ready to play State footy or not is probably a bit of a question mark, but the selectors will have to take a punt on someone and they are the best ones I can find along with Stack to really up the speed in the WA to take it up to the Victorians.